New orleans king's cake

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 packs Active dry yeast
2 teaspoons Granulated sugar
½ cup Lukewarm water
4½ cup All purpose flour
½ cup Granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
½ cup Lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon Grated lemon peel
5 Egg yolks
½ cup Butter; cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons Butter; divided
1 Dried red kidney bean; or pecan half, or small plastic baby.
1 Egg; beaten with 1 T. milk
Additional butter for top of cake
Sugar tinted green; yellow, and purple., (see other recipes)

Directions

Sprinkle yeast and 2 T sugar over lukewarm water. Let soften. Stir, then let sit about 10 minutes, until light and bubbly. Mix 3½ cups of flour, ½ cup sugar, salt and nutmeg well. Add yeast mixture, milk and lemon peel. Work mixture together well with an electric mixer or by hand. Add egg yolks and beat in well. Work in ½ cup butter and continue to beat until butter is incorporated and mixture is smooth.

Either chane to a dough hook, or turn dough out on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, working in remaining 1 cup flour gradually. Dough will not be sticky when ready.

Butter a bowl with 1 T butter; put in ball of dough and turn to coat all sides. Cover with a towel, put in a draft-free place and let rise until double in bulk, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Brush baking sheet with remaining 1 T butter. Turn dough out on floured board and form into a roll about 14 or 15 inches long. (This can be done with the hands). Put roll on prepared baking sheet and form into a ring or oval shape, pressing ends together to seal. Push bean or baby or nut into the cake from the bottom so that it is not visible from the top. Cover with a towel and put in draft-free, warm place to rise until double in size, 45 minutes to an hour.

Brush top of cake with egg-milk wash. Bake in middle of a preheated 375 degree oven until brown...about 25 minutes. Slide cake onto wire rack to cool.

Butter top of cooled cake, spread colored sugars over top of cake, using each color to form bands of green, yellow, purple.

Posted to Bakery-Shoppe Digest V1 #499 by Lee Ann Hamm <lhamm@...> on Jan 10, 1998

Related recipes